Diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction from sequential enzyme measurements obtained within 12 hours of admission to hospital.

A prospective study was made of sequential changes in serum creatine kinase (CK) and CK-MB isoenzyme activity within the 12 hours following admission to the coronary care unit on 65 patients with recent chest pain. CK determinations were performed in the laboratory or in the coronary care unit using a dry reagent strip analyser. Slope values for log CK/hour and log CK-MB/hour were calculated, used to confirm or exclude the diagnosis of myocardial infarction, and compared with diagnosis by conventional means. Compared with retrospective diagnosis using all available information, the CK slope had a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 94%. This compared with a sensitivity of 94% and specificity of 90% for diagnosis using upper reference limits alone. Determination of CK slope permits very rapid and accurate biochemical confirmation or exclusion of myocardial infarction and the possibility of performing the measurements on the coronary care unit. It additionally offers the prospect of major cost savings resulting from early discharge or transfer from the coronary care unit.

Effect of the gastric balloon versus sham procedure on weight loss in obese subjects.

The mechanism by which intragastric balloons induce weight loss is not known, although they may act simply by reducing the amount of food needed to induce satiety. The knowledge that a balloon is present may influence the patients' eating patterns and reduce caloric intake and weight. In order to test whether the balloon or the secondary psychological effect caused weight loss, a double blind balloon versus sham procedure was devised with both groups receiving identical outpatient dietary advice (800 kcal/day). Twenty four obese women with body mass index greater than 30 kg/m2 from an obesity clinic were studied. Twelve had the balloon and 12 the sham procedure. The balloon was removed after three months and the patients were followed for a further three months. There was significantly greater weight loss in the balloon group, mean weight loss (SD) of 7.33 (6.12) kg compared with the sham group, mean weight loss (SD) of 3.33 (3.9) kg (p less than 0.05). Weight loss was not maintained in all patients after balloon removal. Side effects were more common in the balloon group (abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting) but resolved by the second week. We conclude that the intragastric balloon is a safe and effective method of inducing weight loss in well motivated obese patients.